04-23-2014 – Downtown Market Reborn

Hold Street Market Hall has been refurbished, and continues to operate under the name ‘Downtown Market’.

The upgrade project is designed to help rural and farm products enter the market, as well as to ensure that inner city residents can get fresh Hungarian products of guaranteed high quality in the heart of Budapest.

With this approach in mind, we have refurbished market stalls and stands, completely replaced the flooring at the ground level and made it possible for all restaurants and service units to move from the ground level to the gallery where a number of new retail premises have also been installed – primarily for use as restaurants. Thus, the ground floor could preserve the classic functions and atmosphere that a traditional market has, and, as is customary in many European cities, hot food services are now available on the upper level here, as well.

Two small farmers markets, on a floor area of 100 sqm each, have been located in the modernized spacious central nave of the hall, a building that every European capital city would be proud of, where a total of 50 producers can sell their goods simultaneously. As part of the refurbishment works, the pavilions of the market hall have also been repainted in strict compliance with monument protection laws, preserving their original 19th century architectural details.

Also, tactile strips have been incorporated in the pavement to assist the blind. Braille maps and information boards have been installed at the entrances to help the blind and visually impaired navigate. Moreover, a new lavatory and a baby changing station of barrier free access have also been constructed in the part of the market hall facing Vadász Street to offer a more comfortable interior for the disabled and mothers with infants.

Both contemporary culture and living traditions are intended to have a key role to play in promoting a prospective boom of Downtown Market. With its redesigned profile, this up-to-date marketplace will offer large segments of the population a livable space for shopping and cultural mediation, as well as a great interior to gain culinary experience.